Pyongyang, November 12 (KCNA) — Kim Jong Sik, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, issued the following press statement on November 12:
Arms build-up of the U.S. and its vassal allies for seizing a maritime edge in the Asia-Pacific region has emerged as a new dangerous factor seriously disturbing regional peace and security.
A USS Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine recently came into an Australian port for cyclical deployment under the U.S.-UK-Australia AUKUS nuclear submarine project. The U.S. and the Australian military authorities confirmed that the purchase of the first Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine would take place around 2030 as planned.
The ROK military warmongers, citing the approval of nuclear sub development under the “Jangbogo-N Project”, betrayed their scheme to lay the keel of their own nuclear submarine in 2027 with the proactive backing of the U.S., launch it in the mid-2030s and commission it around 2039.
Meanwhile, Japan is going to arm itself with nuclear subs and allow the entry of U.S. nuclear submarines into its ports as part of its rearmament. In the waters off Japan, the U.S., Japan, Australia and other QUAD member states are frequently staging joint naval drills focusing on anti-submarine operations.
The U.S. and its allies’ hasty moves for bolstering up their naval forces assume clearly offensive and confrontation-oriented nature in their purpose, contents and scope.
In particular, the introduction of nuclear submarines by AUKUS, ROK and Japan constitutes detailed implementation of the new security strategy of the U.S. for securing the maritime hegemony by dint of the exclusive superiority of its nuclear-based waterborne and underwater strength in the Asia-Pacific region. This has become a root cause of seriously undermining the strategic balance in the region and sparking off a new arms race.
Enemy nations’ sharing of nuclear technology and military blocs’ nuclear-based alliance pose a serious challenge to the security environment of regional countries, highlighting the urgency and need for the DPRK to make efforts and choices in a more diverse manner in the sphere for safeguarding its maritime sovereignty.
The enemies’ bolstering of their naval forces and the ensuing threat to security constitute a very grave challenge, and our response will not be merely confined to denouncing it.
We will deter all threats by action and flexing of its bolstered muscle.
We have the obligation and sufficient capability to take such option.
The defence forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will adopt the orientation of the sustained and accelerated war deterrent development for defending the national security and the regional peace in the light of the new military threat posed by the U.S. and its allies, and continue their obligatory routine activities as part of the legitimate and responsible exercise of the military sovereignty. -0-
